We are really the enemy

Monday

Jan 7, 2013 at 3:15 AM

There’s a lot of lip flap going around about “gun control.” As a gun owner, I prefer the concept of “self control.”

It only makes sense that any activity involving risk to the general public should require some proof of proficiency as a matter of civil protection. If you want to drive a motor vehicle, fly a plane, install LP-gas lines, or dispense health care, you need to demonstrate competence and obtain certification before practicing your art. So why is the right to own and handle a lethal firearm an exception? Go figure!

When it comes to potentially lethal devices like cars and guns, the right-vs-privilege argument libertarians pull out a straw dog. The only “right” licensing abridges is the right to harm others through ignorance and incompetence.

Of course, training and licensing can’t eliminate tragedy — over 32,000 Americans still died behind the wheel last year. Nevertheless, the fatality rate has been dropping steadily over the past three decades thanks to improved instructional methods, screening, testing, and better safety equipment. Given increased highway congestion and added road hazards posed by our deteriorating infrastructure, this reduction in carnage is impressive.

Medical screening and uniform training would only yield a similar positive outcome for gun safety. Many current owners are already proficient through military training, participation in organized programs such as hunter safety, and competitive shooting sponsored by local gun clubs or national organizations. Unfortunately, many others are only partially proficient, receive improper training, or simply lack the basic knowledge, skill, and mental acuity to handle a lethal weapon safely.

While the public sector is likely to participate in setting uniform proficiency standards, instruction and testing is best implemented at the local level by dedicated national organizations operating in the private sector. This model currently works well for many technical and recreational skill areas including civil aviation and amateur radio. Ironically, at the moment, the most qualified and experienced national training organization to take the lead in firearms proficiency and certification is the NRA.

Were the NRA — presumably under new leadership — to assume an active role in training and licensing, it would provide a tremendous funding opportunity for the organization as well as financial opportunity for private instructors drawn from the group’s ranks. And, politically, it might be our last best chance to rescue this otherwise highly valuable organization from its current slide into becoming a politically driven lobby group for firearm manufacturers and multinational corporate interests. Renewing a strong “bottom-up” revenue stream and strengthening member control can only benefit NRA membership and the public at large.

The time has come to stop yammering about Constitutional rights and what we can’t or won’t do to promote gun safety in America. As it stands, the greatest single threat to the right own and bear arms isn’t the granny state. It’s you and I, along with recalcitrant fear-mongering “spokespersons” like Wayne LaPierre.

America wasn’t built on the shoulders of paranoia, withheld commitment, and stubborn refusal to move forward and take risks. As gun owners, we gain nothing by digging in our heels like spoiled children. Were gun owners and the NRA willing to make a strong public stand for education, training, and civic responsibility through licensing, we could easily short-circuit current efforts to overregulate gun ownership. So, let’s send LaPierre packing, put on our big-boy pants, and get this done!